Tokyo is a Ghost Paradise
by Kisuru-chan
Summary: Kamui has to deal with real life monsters. He doesn't have time for ghosts haunting him, but he can't really stop it, either. A short, creepy sort of story.


**A/N:** Written as a Trick or Treat 2017 exchange gift for Liviania.

* * *

The earthquakes in Tokyo caused destruction. No matter the district buildings were ruined, people lost their lives, the earth was never the same, and there was emptiness. A newfound sense of darkness swallowed these areas and made the end of the world loom closer.

In similar news, Kamui could see them. Subaru had vaguely explained ghosts to him a few times—ghosts had various reasons for staying behind due to revenge or confusion. And now he understood what he meant.

CLAMP Campus was safe, for the most part. But staying at the campus indefinitely was impossible. Leaving always meant threat from the opposing dragons, but he needed space to think and breathe, so it couldn't be helped.

Until the ghosts began to follow him, that was.

The ghosts floated above the sidewalk. They mindlessly wandered from place to place, or walked in and out of crowds. But the more time he spent outside the ghosts would immediately latch onto him and follow him.

"If they bother you," Subaru had told him, "you can always contact me. Or try to avoid them. Leaving confused spirits alone has a less chance of aggravating them." Dark circles, as well as the dull tone in his voice, showed that he was dead tired of similar complaints from recent jobs.

"It must be hectic," Kamui replied, hanging his head. To think, Kamui's fate had cost him that many sleepless nights. From osmosis, Kamui realized that Subaru had been worked to the bone for years, but it didn't make it better that the earthquakes killed tons more people.

Notifying Subaru each time something bad happened would be pointless. Bothering him only made Subaru distant, and Kamui wanted him to have as little work as possible whether that was just what he only managed.

During one night for dinner, Yuzuriha and Inuki sat across from him like usual. Kamui twiddled with his chopsticks. He wasn't scared to ask her anything. He just wondered how he should word his question to make it sound calm, because he had been thinking about it for quite a while.

"I have a question. Can Inuki see other ghosts?" Kamui asked, looking up to see Yuzuriha's expression.

Yuzuriha blinked, then grinned.

"Hmm, yeah!" Yuzuriha put a finger to her cheek. "Inuki smells out ghosts all the time. He gets excited when he realizes there be dog spirits around. But…"

"But?" Kamui prompted.

"I can't get them to like me!" Yuzuriha clenched her fists and waved her chopsticks in the air. "I want to play with them, too! Because it was so lonely back when nobody could see Inuki and no one but me would play with him. But the ghost dogs ignore me. It's frustrating."

Apparently, Yuzuriha wasn't able to help either. He supposed Sorata could help, but asking Sorata meant Kamui would be guarded _even more_ than recently. Taking precautions about his safety was serious and he appreciated the effort. Kamui just didn't want to impose on anyone, especially when it wasn't really an issue.

But, as fate would have it, the passive passing of ghosts didn't last forever. Kamui should expected as much.

Lost in his thoughts, a sudden tap on his shoulder made him stop cold. He whipped around and expected a smirking Fuuma ready to ruin his entire day. Frowning, Kamui didn't see anything at all there in the spot.

He didn't have time for this. He had to get somewhere with more people, and he could pretend nothing had happened. Usually, he fought whenever he had to—he still hated to be ambushed, just as those goons had even before he had made his decision for destiny—but fighting something that wasn't there was impossible. He was not Subaru; Subaru could see and do everything he couldn't do. Sensing those things was not impossible, but he didn't sense anything, and he hadn't even before.

Kamui chanced upon a shop with clothes. He flipped through the shirts on the stand. Summer colors, he noted. Oranges, blues, yellows—cheerful stuff he wouldn't wear that would attract more attention to him on dark night. In fact, he wondered if it was something Keiichi would like these kinds of clothes. Did he have a birthday soon?

It didn't really occur to him that many deaths had occurred recently. He had gotten off-track from such thoughts.

Without warning, the shirts in front of him lifted off the pile and fell over his head, blocking his line of sight. Kamui flailed and tripped over the corner of the display case and fell straight back on the sidewalk. He pushed the shirt off, but it refused to be torn off his head, smothering him. More shirts, trousers, caps, and a number of things dropped on him, piling up on him even more, almost viciously.

Eventually, he couldn't breathe. He also lost patience with it all. Gathering up energy in his hand, Kamui sent the clothes off of him; the clothes blew away in a powerful white blast that ripped them to shreds down to the seams.

Kamui heaved a sigh. He was relieved. The store owner raced from the back of the shop and covered her face, glowering down at him in horror. Sheepishly, Kamui fumbled in his pocket until he found the credit card Nokoru had given him. _Buy whatever you want, you're a special guest around here, after all_! Nokoru had told him months ago. Kamui hoped he had been sincere about that.

"I'll… buy everything I burned…" Kamui said.

Likely, the ghosts were attracted to his power. But why were they targeting him today? Maybe they had realized he wasn't a threat, or they just wanted to get back at the person that had helped kill them. Kamui wouldn't blame them. Certainly, though, he didn't want more punishment.

He pretended to be fine at home. He just walked up the stairs to his room. Nothing unusual. He did that all the time. Kamui sprawled on his bed and dozed off, burying his face in the pillow. Maybe he would think of something later.

Well, he didn't think of anything at first. The next few days were fine. He had a few incidents, but they were not as bad as the shop incident. He could deal with this.

Then, one night, everyone went out. Karen and Seiichirou had their own jobs, Yuzuriha met a friend, Subaru was doing his own thing, and Sorata and Arashi had a date. Finally, he had some time to himself! Or so he thought.

As soon as he walked up the stairs to the top floor, the stairs creaked. He looked around and didn't see a soul.

"Don't tell me…"

He ran up the rest of the stairs and slammed the door to his bedroom. The room was reinforced against malicious presences, so he should be fine here. Nothing could get past the enchantments from an onmyouji, a monk, a shrine maiden, and harsh scoldings from a soapgirl.

Utter chaos ensued as soon as he turned to face the room. The walls began to groan and he heard something tapping. His pillow off the bed and smacked him right in the face. He pushed it off, holding his aching nose, watching as the drawers on his desk opened and closed, his wardrobe door opened and clothes flew out, and the glass vase on his nightstand flew. The pink flowers landed on his bed.

Kamui, stunned for a moment at what he was witnessing, watched as his desk chair broke through the window and his homework on the desk was flung out. The papers scattered in the wind before dropping out of sight.

Before his landline cords were pulled out (they might attack him if he tried to leave), Kamui walked over to the phone on his nightstand. He dialed Subaru's apartment number to see if he was there, and he felt relief shoot through his veins when he heard Subaru say hello.

"Subaru, I think I need help. Can you come now?"


End file.
